Ezra Klein

Only the shift by that afternoon, how brilliant it was for Trump to pause those very same tariffs. Just look at that stock market recovery. Brilliant stuff, sir. Textbook art of the deal. Where we are right now, as I write this on Monday, April 14th, is an all-out trade war with China. We've also laid tariffs on the rest of the world, but the big ones are on China.

Only the shift by that afternoon, how brilliant it was for Trump to pause those very same tariffs. Just look at that stock market recovery. Brilliant stuff, sir. Textbook art of the deal. Where we are right now, as I write this on Monday, April 14th, is an all-out trade war with China. We've also laid tariffs on the rest of the world, but the big ones are on China.

The tariffs there are well over 100%. We're being told this is all necessary because we need to bring those supply chains back from China, particularly the advanced ones. They built their economy. They built their power on the backs of our iPhones, our batteries, our semiconductors. We need all that back. But no, wait, wait, wait. Breaking news.

The tariffs there are well over 100%. We're being told this is all necessary because we need to bring those supply chains back from China, particularly the advanced ones. They built their economy. They built their power on the backs of our iPhones, our batteries, our semiconductors. We need all that back. But no, wait, wait, wait. Breaking news.

Most electronics are now exempted from the China tariffs. We're going to tariff shoes from China at a higher rate than laptops in this policy apparently designed to reshore advanced manufacturing. Apple in particular seems to have wriggled out of the tariffs. Or no, wait, wait, maybe not. Now Trump is saying that the exemptions his own administration announced, that's just fake news.

Most electronics are now exempted from the China tariffs. We're going to tariff shoes from China at a higher rate than laptops in this policy apparently designed to reshore advanced manufacturing. Apple in particular seems to have wriggled out of the tariffs. Or no, wait, wait, maybe not. Now Trump is saying that the exemptions his own administration announced, that's just fake news.

The same goods will be tariffed in some different way later for some unapparent reason. Even right now, I cannot tell you what these tariffs are or will be. Imagine trying to make investment decisions based on them. What I can tell you is that China is retaliating. They've halted exports of rare earth minerals and magnets necessary for the production of many, many advanced products.

The same goods will be tariffed in some different way later for some unapparent reason. Even right now, I cannot tell you what these tariffs are or will be. Imagine trying to make investment decisions based on them. What I can tell you is that China is retaliating. They've halted exports of rare earth minerals and magnets necessary for the production of many, many advanced products.

Is that going to help our manufacturers? To be in a position where they cannot manufacture key goods, but China can? Did the Trump administration plan for this entirely foreseeable response? The questions answer themselves. What if you get in a trade war with China and you lose?

Is that going to help our manufacturers? To be in a position where they cannot manufacture key goods, but China can? Did the Trump administration plan for this entirely foreseeable response? The questions answer themselves. What if you get in a trade war with China and you lose?

What if after infuriating the rest of the world, putting tariffs on them too, you make China look stronger, more reliable, more farsighted, more strategic in the eyes of all these other countries that are now looking for an exit from the unreliable consequences of U.S. hegemony? I want to talk about China today.

What if after infuriating the rest of the world, putting tariffs on them too, you make China look stronger, more reliable, more farsighted, more strategic in the eyes of all these other countries that are now looking for an exit from the unreliable consequences of U.S. hegemony? I want to talk about China today.

I think one reason the administration felt it's safer to retrench to something that could be described more as a trade war with China is that a bipartisan consensus is hardened around China. Trump set this into motion in his 2016 campaign, but then Democrats embraced it too. China is a rising power. We've made a terrible mistake in letting them rise. We are in danger of being a falling power.

I think one reason the administration felt it's safer to retrench to something that could be described more as a trade war with China is that a bipartisan consensus is hardened around China. Trump set this into motion in his 2016 campaign, but then Democrats embraced it too. China is a rising power. We've made a terrible mistake in letting them rise. We are in danger of being a falling power.

China ripped us off. They took our manufacturing jobs. They addicted us and our allies to their cheap labor and their cheap goods. And China, it doesn't just want to be rich. It wants to rule. First Taiwan, then who knows what else. I'm not going to tell you this story is entirely wrong. It's not.

China ripped us off. They took our manufacturing jobs. They addicted us and our allies to their cheap labor and their cheap goods. And China, it doesn't just want to be rich. It wants to rule. First Taiwan, then who knows what else. I'm not going to tell you this story is entirely wrong. It's not.

And I'm not going to tell you that all the Republicans and Democrats who believe it wanted Trump's trade war specifically. They didn't. But I will tell you that I've been surprised and alarmed for years now by how this new, much more hawkish and angry consensus has hardened, how hard it has become to question.

And I'm not going to tell you that all the Republicans and Democrats who believe it wanted Trump's trade war specifically. They didn't. But I will tell you that I've been surprised and alarmed for years now by how this new, much more hawkish and angry consensus has hardened, how hard it has become to question.

I get nervous when it comes clear to me that we've chosen a new foreign enemy in Washington and that the politics on both sides no longer really allow for contrary voices or understandings.

I get nervous when it comes clear to me that we've chosen a new foreign enemy in Washington and that the politics on both sides no longer really allow for contrary voices or understandings.